Display driving method, display driver integrated circuit, and electronic device comprising the same

ABSTRACT

A display driver integrated circuit is disclosed. The display driver integrated circuit includes panel signal supply circuitry configured to supply an image signal corresponding to image data to a panel, pixel power supply circuitry configured to supply pixel power to a pixel that receives the image signal, and a controller configured to control the pixel power supply circuitry to supply the pixel power based on an on-pixel ratio (OPR) value of the image data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is based on and claims priority 35 U.S.C. §119 to aKorean patent application filed on Nov. 12, 2014 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number 10-2014-0157296,the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a display driving method, a display driverintegrated circuit, and an electronic device including the same.

BACKGROUND

A portable electronic device including a display, such as a smart phone,a wearable device, and the like, is coming into wide use. Since theportable electronic device is not always supplied with power from theoutside, low power consumption of the portable electronic device and adisplay included therein have become increasingly important.

The display includes a display panel (hereinafter briefly referred to as“panel”) displaying an image screen and a display driver integratedcircuit (DDI) driving the panel. The display driver integrated circuitreceives image data from the outside, performs image processing withrespect to the received image data, and drives the panel by applying animage signal to the panel based on the processed image data.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure address at least the above-mentioned problemsand/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages describedbelow. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a displaydriving method, a display driver integrated circuit, and an electronicdevice including the same, capable of diversifying a source of a powerto be supplied to a pixel of a panel based on a feature (e.g., anon-pixel ratio (OPR) value) of a screen to be displayed on the panel,thereby achieving low power.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a display driverintegrated circuit may be provided. The display driver integratedcircuit may include panel signal supply circuitry configured to supplyan image signal corresponding to image data to a panel, a pixel powersupply module (or pixel power supply circuit) configured to supply apixel power to a pixel that receives the image signal, and a controlmodule (or controller) configured to control the pixel power supplycircuitry to supply the pixel power based on an OPR value of the imagedata.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings,discloses various examples of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the disclosurewill be more apparent from the following detailed description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencenumerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example electronic device includinga display driver integrated circuit;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example display;

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating panel screens of exampleelectronic devices;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic deviceincluding a display driver integrated circuit;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example display driving method;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example display driving method;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example program module.

Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbersare used to depict the same or similar elements, features, andstructures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various examples of the disclosure may be described with reference toaccompanying drawings. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that any modification, equivalent, and/or alternative onthe various examples described herein can be variously made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. With regard todescription of drawings, similar components may be marked by similarreference numerals.

In the disclosure, the expressions “have”, “may have”, “include” and“comprise”, or “may include” and “may comprise” used herein indicateexistence of corresponding features (e.g., elements such as numericvalues, functions, operations, or components) but do not excludepresence of additional features.

In the disclosure, the expressions “A or B”, “at least one of A or/andB”, or “one or more of A or/and B”, and the like used herein may includeany and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.For example, the term “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at leastone of A or B” may refer to all of the case (1) where at least one A isincluded, the case (2) where at least one B is included, or the case (3)where both of at least one A and at least one B are included.

The terms, such as “first”, “second”, and the like used herein may referto various elements of various examples of the disclosure, but do notlimit the elements. For example, such terms do not limit the orderand/or priority of the elements. Furthermore, such terms may be used todistinguish one element from another element. For example, “a first userdevice” and “a second user device” indicate different user devices. Forexample, without departing the scope of the disclosure, a first elementmay be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second elementmay be referred to as a first element.

It will be understood that when an element (e.g., a first element) isreferred to as being “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to”or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it can bedirectly coupled with/to or connected to the other element or anintervening element (e.g., a third element) may be present. In contrast,when an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to as being“directly coupled with/to” or “directly connected to” another element(e.g., a second element), it should be understood that there is nointervening element (e.g., a third element).

According to the situation, the expression “configured to” used hereinmay be used as, for example, the expression “suitable for”, “having thecapacity to”, “designed to”, “adapted to”, “made to”, or “capable of”.The term “configured to” must not mean only “specifically designed to”in hardware. Instead, the expression “a device configured to” may meanthat the device is “capable of” operating together with another deviceor other components. For example, a “processor configured to perform A,B, and C” may mean a dedicated processor (e.g., an embedded processor)for performing a corresponding operation or a generic-purpose processor(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor)which may perform corresponding operations by executing one or moresoftware programs which are stored in a memory device.

Terms used in this disclosure are used to describe specified examples ofthe disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of thedisclosure. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unlessotherwise specified. Unless otherwise defined herein, all the terms usedherein, which include technical or scientific terms, may have the samemeaning that is generally understood by a person skilled in the art. Itwill be further understood that terms, which are defined in a dictionaryand commonly used, should also be interpreted as is customary in therelevant related art and not in an idealized or overly formal detectunless expressly so defined herein in various examples of thedisclosure. In some cases, even if terms are defined in thespecification, they may not be interpreted to exclude examples of thedisclosure.

An electronic device according to various examples of the disclosure mayinclude at least one of smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs),mobile phones, video telephones, electronic book readers, desktop PCs,laptop PCs, netbook computers, workstations, servers, personal digitalassistants (PDAs), portable multimedia players (PMPs), Motion PictureExperts Group (MPEG-1 or MPEG-2) Audio Layer 3 (MP3) players, mobilemedical devices, cameras, wearable devices (e.g., head-mounted-devices(HMDs), such as electronic glasses), an electronic apparel, electronicbracelets, electronic necklaces, electronic appcessories, electronictattoos, smart mirrors, smart bands, smart watches, and the like.

According to various examples of the disclosure, the electronic devicesmay be smart home appliances. The smart home appliances may include atleast one of, for example, televisions (TVs), digital versatile disc(DVD) players, audios, refrigerators, air conditioners, cleaners, ovens,microwave ovens, washing machines, air cleaners, set-top boxes, TV boxes(e.g., Samsung HomeSync™, Apple TV™, or Google TV™), game consoles(e.g., Xbox™ and PlayStation™), electronic dictionaries, electronickeys, camcorders, electronic picture frames, and the like.

According to various examples of the disclosure, the electronic devicesmay include at least one of medical devices (e.g., various portablemedical measurement devices (e.g., a blood glucose monitoring device, aheartbeat measuring device, a blood pressure measuring device, a bodytemperature measuring device, and the like)), a magnetic resonanceangiography (MRA), a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a computedtomography (CT), scanners, and ultrasonic devices) receiving a userinput in an idle mode, navigation devices, global positioning system(GPS) receivers, event data recorders (EDRs), flight data recorders(FDRs), vehicle infotainment devices, electronic equipment for vessels(e.g., navigation systems and gyrocompasses), avionics, securitydevices, head units for vehicles, industrial or home robots, automaticteller's machines (ATMs), points of sales (POSs), or internet of things(e.g., light bulbs, various sensors, electric or gas meters, sprinklerdevices, fire alarms, thermostats, street lamps, toasters, exerciseequipment, hot water tanks, heaters, boilers), and the like.

According to certain examples of the disclosure, the electronic devicesmay include at least one of furniture or buildings/structures,electronic boards, electronic signature receiving devices, projectors,or various measuring instruments (e.g., water meters, electricitymeters, gas meters, or wave meters, and the like). The electronicdevices according to an example of the disclosure may be one or morecombinations of the above-mentioned devices. According to certainexamples of the disclosure, an electronic device may be a flexibleelectronic device. Also, electronic devices according to variousexamples of the disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioneddevices, and may include new electronic devices according to technologydevelopment

Hereinafter, electronic devices according to an example of thedisclosure will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The term “user” used herein may refer to a person who uses anelectronic device or may refer to a device (e.g., an artificialelectronic device) that uses an electronic device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example electronic device includinga display driver integrated circuit.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an electronic device 101 in anetwork environment 100 according to various examples of the disclosure.The electronic device 101 may include a bus 110, a processor 120, amemory 130, an input/output (I/O) interface 150, a display 160, and acommunication interface 170. According to an example of the disclosure,the electronic device 101 may include less than all of theabove-described components or may further include additionalcomponent(s).

The bus 110 may interconnect the above-described components 120 to 170and may, for example, be a circuit for conveying communications (e.g., acontrol message and/or data) among the above-described components.

The processor 120 may include one or more of a central processing unit(CPU), an application processor (AP), a communication processor (CP), ora graphic processor. The processor 120 may be configured to perform, forexample, data processing or an operation associated with control orcommunication of at least one other component(s) of the electronicdevice 101.

For example, the processor 120 including at least one AP and thegraphics processor may be configured to produce image data according toexecution of an application program and may be configured to transferthe image data to the display 160 through the bus 110. The processor 120may be called “host”. According to an example of the disclosure, theprocessor 120 may be configured to determine an on-pixel ratio (OPR)value of image data.

In this disclosure, the OPR value may be obtained from image data andmay include, for example, a ratio (or a number ratio) of pixels, whichare supplied with pixel power (i.e., which operate), to all pixelsincluded in a panel 165 of the display 160.

According to an example of the disclosure, the processor 120 may beconfigured to control a source (e.g., a pixel power supply moduleincluded in a display driver integrated circuit 161 or a pixel powersupply circuit 163) of the pixel power to be supplied to the display 160(the panel 165 thereof) based on the OPR value. An example in which theprocessor 120 is configured to determine the OPR value and to control asource of the pixel power will be described below with reference to FIG.4.

The memory 130 may include a volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. Thememory 130 may store instructions or data associated with at least oneother component(s) of the electronic device 101. According to variousexamples of the disclosure, the memory 130 may store software and/or aprogram 140.

For example, the memory 130 may store an image/video file includingspecific image data, an application program for displaying the specificimage data on the panel 165, a program for a display driving methodaccording to an example embodiment, and the like.

The program 140 may include, for example, a kernel 141, a middleware143, an application programming interface (API) 145, and/or anapplication program (or an application) 147. At least a portion of thekernel 141, the middleware 143, or the API 145 may be referred to as an“operating system (OS)”.

The kernel 141 may control or manage system resources (e.g., the bus110, the processor 120, the memory 130, and the like) that are used toexecute operations or functions of other programs (e.g., the middleware143, the API 145, and the application program 147). Furthermore, thekernel 141 may provide an interface that allows the middleware 143, theAPI 145, or the application 147 to access discrete components of theelectronic device 101 so as to control or manage system resources.

The middleware 143 may perform a mediation role such that the API 145 orthe application 147 communicates with the kernel 141 to exchange data.

Furthermore, the middleware 143 may process task requests received fromthe application 147 based on priority. For example, the middleware 143may assign the priority, which makes it possible to use a systemresource (e.g., the bus 110, the processor 120, the memory 130, or thelike) of the electronic device 101, to at least one of the application147. For example, the middleware 143 may process the one or more taskrequests according to the priority assigned to the at least one, whichmakes it possible to perform scheduling or load balancing on the one ormore task requests.

The API 145 may be an interface through which the application program147 controls a function provided by the kernel 141 or the middleware143, and may include, for example, at least one interface or function(e.g., an instruction) for a file control, a window control, imageprocessing, a character control, or the like.

The application 147 may, for example, include a video player, an imageviewer, or a game application (hereinafter referred to as “high-powerapplication”), which provides various images by supplying a power toalmost all pixels on the panel 165, and an application (hereinafterreferred to as “low-power application”), which provides the followingspecific information with fewer pixels driven: watch, weather, date,temperature, news, notification, lock pattern, personal identificationnumber (PIN) input screen, short message service (SMS) or instantmessenger (IM) message, missed call indication, and the like. In otherwords, the application 147 may include the high-power application, whichtransmits image data having a great OPR value to the panel 165, and thelow-power application, which transmits image data having a small OPRvalue to the panel 165.

The I/O interface 150 may transmit an instruction or data, input, forexample, from a user or another external device, to other component(s)of the electronic device 101. Furthermore, the I/O interface 150 mayoutput an instruction or data, received from other component(s) of theelectronic device 101, to a user or another external device.

The display 160 may include the display driver integrated circuit 161which provides the panel 165 with the pixel power and an image signalcorresponding to image data received from the processor 120 (or thehost), the pixel power supply circuit 163 which generates pixel powergreater than the pixel power supplied from the display driver integratedcircuit 161 and supplies the pixel power to the panel 165, and the panelwhich is supplied with an image signal and the pixel power and displaysa screen that a user is able to visually perceive. A detailed functionalconfiguration of the display 160 will be described below with referenceto FIG. 2.

The display 160 may include, for example, a liquid crystal display(LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic LED (OLED)display, a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) display, an electronicpaper display, or the like. The display driver integrated circuit 161 orthe pixel power supply circuit 163 according to various examples of thedisclosure may control the supplying of the pixel power for a pixel.Accordingly, the display 160 according to various examples of thedisclosure may correspond to an OLED display which controls thesupplying of the pixel power for a pixel, that is, which includes alight source (e.g., OLED) every pixel. In this disclosure, the display160 and the panel 165 may be described as being an OLED display and anOLED panel, respectively.

Furthermore, the display 160 (the panel 165 thereof) may display, forexample, various contents (e.g., a text, an image, a video, an icon, asymbol, and the like) to a user by receiving the image signal and thepixel power and converting them into light. The display 160 may includea touch screen and may receive, for example, a touch, gesture,proximity, or hovering input using an electronic pen or a portion of auser's body.

The communication interface 170 may, for example, establishcommunication between the electronic device 101 and an externalelectronic device (e.g., a first external electronic device 102, asecond external electronic device 104, or a server 106). For example,the communication interface 170 may be connected to a network 162through wireless communication or wired communication to communicatewith the external device (e.g., a second external electronic device 104or a server 106).

The wireless communication may include at least one of, for example,LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, WCDMA, UMTs, WiBro, GSM, or the like, as cellularcommunication protocol. Furthermore, the wireless communication mayinclude, for example, a local area network 164. The local area network164 may include, for example, at least one of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, nearfield communication (NFC), global positioning system (GPS), or the like.The wired communication may include at least one of, for example, auniversal serial bus (USB), a high definition multimedia interface(HDMI), a recommended standard-132 (RS-132), or a plain old telephoneservice (POTS). The network 162 may include at least one oftelecommunications networks, for example, a computer network (e.g., LANor WAN), an internet, or a telephone network.

Each of the first and second external electronic devices 102 and 104 maybe a device type that is different from or the same as that of theelectronic device 101. According to an example of the disclosure, theserver 106 may include a group of one or more servers. According tovarious examples of the disclosure, all or a part of operations that theelectronic device 101 will perform may be executed by another or pluralelectronic devices (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104 and theserver 106). According to an example of the disclosure, in the casewhere the electronic device 101 executes any function or serviceautomatically or in response to a request, the electronic device 101 maynot perform the function or the service internally, but, alternativelyadditionally, it may request at least a portion of a function associatedwith the electronic device 101 at other device (e.g., the electronicdevice 102 or 104 or the server 106). The other electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 102 or 104 or the server 106) may execute therequested function or additional function and may transmit the executionresult to the electronic device 101. The electronic device 101 mayprovide the requested function or service using the received result ormay additionally process the received result to provide the requestedfunction or service. To this end, for example, cloud computing,distributed computing, or client-server computing may be used.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example display.

Referring to FIG. 2, a display (e.g., the display 160 of FIG. 1)according to an example of the disclosure may include a display driverintegrated circuit 201 (corresponding to the display driver integratedcircuit 161 of FIG. 1), a pixel power supplying circuit 203(corresponding to the pixel power supply circuit 163 of FIG. 1), and apanel 205 (corresponding to the panel 165 of FIG. 1). The pixel powersupplying circuit 203 may be referred to as a (external) pixel powersupplying module, and the pixel power supply circuit 163 may be referredto as a (internal) pixel power supplying module.

The display driver integrated circuit 201 may include a control module211, a pixel power supply circuitry or module 213, a panel signal supplycircuitry or module 215, and a gamma voltage generator 217. Although notillustrated, the display driver integrated circuit 201 may furtherinclude other modules, which make it possible to function as a displaydriver integrated circuit, such as various interfaces, registers, animage processing module, a boost module, and the like. The displaydriver integrated circuit 201 may include such modules, thereby makingit possible to supply the panel 205 with the pixel power and an imagesignal corresponding to image data from the processor 120 (or the host).

The control module (or controller) 211 may be configured to control thepixel power supply module 213 to supply the pixel power based on an OPRvalue of image data received from the processor 120 (or the host). Thecontrol module 211 may be configured to determine the OPR value of theimage data received from the processor 120. In the case where thedetermined OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition, the controlmodule 211 may be configured to control the pixel power supply module213 to supply the pixel power to a pixel that receives the image signal.According to an example of the disclosure, in the case where an OPRvalue of image data satisfies the predetermined condition, the controlmodule 211 may be configured to control the pixel power supplyingcircuit 203 to stop supplying the pixel power.

As such, the control module 211 may diversify a pixel power source whichsupplies the pixel power to a pixel that receives an image signal, basedon an OPR value of image data. In the case where the OPR value issmaller than a specific value, the control module 211 may select thepixel power supply module 213, which consumes a relatively smallquantity of battery power, as a pixel power resource and may interruptthe pixel power which is supplied from the pixel power supplying circuit203 consuming a relatively great quantity of battery power.

According to an example of the disclosure, when an OPR value satisfies apredetermined condition, the control module 211 may be configured tochange (e.g., decrease) the frame rate of an image signal that the panelsignal supply module 215 supplies. For example, it may be assumed thatan OPR value of image data is greater than a specific value and theframe rate of an image signal supplied to the panel 205 is 60 fps. Inthis case, when receiving image data having an OPR value smaller than aspecific value, the control module 211 may lower the frame rate of animage signal to be supplied to the panel 205 from 60 fps to 30 fps. Thereason is that a sudden change in a screen does not almost occur when anOPR value of image data is smaller than a specific value (i.e., when anapplication consuming a small quantity of power is executed).

Although not illustrated, the control module 211 may, for example,further include control logic, a timing controller module (T-conmodule), the frame rate (or a frame frequency) adjusting module, and thelike.

Under the control of the control module 211, the pixel power supplymodule (or circuitry) 213 may supply power to a pixel, which receives animage signal, for a pixel. For example, the pixel power supply module213 may supply power to an OLED included in each pixel of the panel 205.

If an OPR value is smaller than a specific value, the pixel power supplymodule 213 may supply pixel power to the panel 205 under the control ofthe control module 211. The pixel power supply module 213 maysufficiently supply power to all pixels on the panel 205 and elementsimplemented in the display driver integrated circuit 201. Furthermore,when an OPR value is smaller than the specific value, the control module211 may interrupt pixel power that is supplied from the pixel powersupplying circuit 203 consuming a relatively great quantity of power.

The panel signal supply module (or circuitry) 215 may supply an imagesignal corresponding to image data to the panel 205 based on a specificframe rate (per second). The image signal may be a signal which includessignals supplied to a scan line (not illustrated) and a data line (notillustrated), respectively. The panel signal supply module 215 mayinclude a source driver and a gate driver, although not illustrated.

The gamma voltage generator 217 may generate a gamma voltage for gammacorrection of the image signal.

The gamma correction may include correction of a difference between aphotoelectric transformation characteristic of a device (e.g., a camera(not illustrated)) converting light into an image signal and aphotoelectric transformation characteristic of a device (e.g., the panel205) converting an image signal into light and correct non-linearitythereof. The gamma correction may, for example, be accomplished bysetting (generating) a plurality of gamma voltages having constantvoltage levels and applying the gamma voltages to an image signal. Thegamma correction may allow each pixel of the panel 205, supplied with animage signal, to display an intended screen with a full color withoutdistortion. For example, even though the pixel power supply module 213having a relatively low output is used, the gamma correction may beperformed with respect to each pixel supplied with pixel power when anOPR value is limited to be smaller than a specific value.

The pixel power supplying circuit 203 may generate pixel power greaterthan the pixel power supply module 213 of the display driver integratedcircuit 201 and may supply the pixel power to a pixel of the panel 205.The pixel power supplying circuit 203 may include DC/DC-IC. The pixelpower supplying circuit 203 may perform a function which corresponds toa function of the pixel power supply module 213 included in the displaydriver integrated circuit 201.

The pixel power supplying circuit 203 may, for example, be generallydesigned using the case where all pixels operate, that is, the casewhere an OPR value is 100%, as a standard. Accordingly, batteryconsumption of the pixel power supplying circuit 203 may be greater thanthat of the pixel power supply module 213 of the display driverintegrated circuit 201. For this reason, the pixel power supplyingcircuit 203 may be used mostly when image data with a great OPR value istransmitted to a panel, that is, a high-power application is executed.

The panel 205 may be supplied with an image signal and pixel power andmay display a screen corresponding to the image data. The panel 205 mayinclude a plurality of pixels. Each of the plurality of pixels mayinclude at least two or more switching elements (e.g., FET) and oneOLED. Each pixel may receive the pixel power from the pixel power supplymodule 213 or the pixel power supplying circuit 203 and an image signalfrom the pixel signal supplying module 215 with a predetermined timingand may generate light.

FIGS. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating example panel screens of anelectronic device.

Illustrated in FIG. 3A to 3C are various screens displayed on a panel ofan electronic device in the case where an OPR value of image data issmaller than a specific value. In FIG. 3A, a low-power applicationcapable of providing watch, date, weather, and temperature informationmay be driven on a smartphone. Referring to FIG. 3A, pixel power may besupplied to pixels used to compose characters and figures indicatingwatch, date, weather, and temperature information, and no power may besupplied to remaining pixels (black pixels). For such a screen, a ratio(an OPR value) of pixels composing a character(s) or a figure(s) to allpixels on the panel of the smart phone may be lower than a specificvalue (e.g., 10%). In this case, the control module 211 may beconfigured to control the pixel power supply module 213, which consumesa relatively small quantity of power, to supply pixel power to pixelscomposing a character(s) or a figure(s).

In FIG. 3B, a low-power application capable of providing watch, date,weather, and temperature information may be driven on a smart watch. InFIG. 3C, a low-power application capable of providing watch, date,weather, and temperature information may be driven on a smart band. Adescription about FIGS. 3B and 3C may correspond to that given withreference to FIG. 3A and may be thus omitted. As described above, anelectronic device according to various examples of the disclosure maynot be limited to a smart phone and a wearable device. For example, theelectronic device according to various examples of the disclosure may beapplied to all electronic devices each including a display, such as atelevision, a smart appliance, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic deviceincluding a display driver integrated circuit.

Referring to FIG. 4, an electronic device according to another exampleof the disclosure may include a display driver module (or circuit) 401,a pixel power supplying module (or circuit) 403, a panel 405, and aprocessor 407.

The display driver module 401 may be different from the display driverintegrated circuit 201 in that the display driver module 401 iscontrolled by the processor 407. Similarly to the display driverintegrated circuit 201, the display driver integrated circuit 401 mayinclude the pixel power supply module 213, the panel signal supplymodule 215, and the gamma voltage generator 217.

According to the above description, the display driver module 401 maysupply an image signal corresponding to image data to the panel 405 andmay supply pixel power to a pixel supplied with the image signal undercontrol of the processor 407. The display driver module 401 may includethe gamma voltage generator 217. Accordingly, when an OPR valuesatisfies a predetermined condition, the display driver module 401 mayperform gamma correction about an image signal and may supply thegamma-corrected image signal to the panel 405.

The pixel power supply module 403 may supply pixel power to a pixelsupplied with an image signal under the control of the processor 407. Aconfiguration and a function of the pixel power supply module 403 maycorrespond to the pixel power supplying circuit 203 of FIG. 2, but itmay be different from the pixel power supplying circuit 203 in that thepixel power supply module 403 is under control of the processor 407.

The panel 405 may include a plurality of pixels and may display a screencorresponding to image data. The panel 405 may correspond to the panel205 of FIG. 2, and a description thereof may be thus omitted.

The processor 407 (corresponding to the processor 120 of FIG. 1) may beconfigured to generate image data by execution of an application and maybe configured to send the image data to the display driver module 401.Meanwhile, the processor 407 may be configured to determine an OPR valueof the image data thus generated and may be configured to control asource of pixel power to be supplied to the panel 405 based on the OPRvalue.

According to an example of the disclosure, when an OPR value satisfies apredetermined condition (e.g., in the case where an OPR value is smallerthan a specific value), the processor 407 may be configured to controlthe display driver module 401 to supply pixel power. In the case wherethe OPR value satisfies the predetermined condition, the processor 407may be configured to control the pixel power supply module 403 to stopsupplying the pixel power.

When the OPR value satisfies another predetermined condition (e.g., inthe case where the OPR value is greater than the specific value), theprocessor 407 may be configured to control the pixel power supply module403 to supply the pixel power and may be configured to control thedisplay driver module 401 to stop supplying the pixel power.Accordingly, the processor 407 may diversify a pixel power source,supplying the pixel power to a pixel, based on the OPR value.

According to an example of the disclosure, when the OPR value satisfiesanother predetermined condition (e.g., in the case where the OPR valueis smaller than the specific value), the processor 407 may be configuredto change (e.g., lower) the frame rate of an image signal that thedisplay driver module 401 supplies.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example display driving method.

Referring to FIG. 5, a display driving method according to variousexamples of the disclosure may include generating an image signalcorresponding to image data by a display driver integrated circuit 201(or a display driver module 401 of FIG. 4) and selecting a pixel powersupply module, which supplies pixel power to a panel 205 (or a panel 405of FIG. 4), from among a plurality of pixel power supply modules basedon an OPR value of the image data determined by a control module 211 ofthe display driver integrated circuit 201 (operation 501), and supplyingthe image signal and pixel power from the selected pixel power supplymodule to the panel (operation 503).

According to various examples of the disclosure, the plurality of pixelpower supply modules may include a first pixel power supply modulegenerating a pixel power of a first level and a second pixel powersupply module generating a pixel power of a second level greater thanthe first level. The first pixel power supply module may be, forexample, the pixel power supply module 213 of FIG. 2, and the secondpixel power supply module may be, for example, the pixel power supplyingcircuit 203 of FIG. 2 or the pixel power supply module 403 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example display driving method.

Referring to FIG. 6, in operation 601, the display driver integratedcircuit 201 may receive image data, generated according to execution ofthe application 147, from the processor 120. When the application 147 isexecuted, the processor 120 may generate image data having an OPR valueand may transmit the image data to the display driver integrated circuit201 of FIG. 2.

According to another example of the disclosure, in operation 601, thedisplay driver module 401 of FIG. 4 may receive image data, generatedaccording to execution of the application 147, from the processor 407 ofFIG. 4. When the application 147 is executed, the processor 407 maygenerate image data with an OPR value and may transmit the image data tothe display driver module 401.

In operation 603, for example, the display driver integrated circuit 201(the control module 211 thereof) of FIG. 2 may be configured todetermine an OPR value of the received image data and may compare theOPR value thus determined with a specific value. If the OPR value issmaller than the specific value, the method proceeds to operation 605;if not, the method proceeds to operation 617. For example, in the casewhere an application participating in generating the image data is alow-power application for displaying watch, calendar, and weatherinformation, the method proceeds to operation 605 because the OPR valueis smaller than the specific value.

According to another example of the disclosure, in operation 603, theprocessor 407 of FIG. 4 may be configured to determine an OPR value ofthe received image data and may compare the OPR value thus determinedwith a specific value. If the OPR value is smaller than the specificvalue, the method proceeds to operation 605; if not, the method proceedsto operation 617.

In operation 605, the panel signal supply module 215 of the displaydriver integrated circuit 201 illustrated in FIG. 2 may generate animage signal corresponding to the received image data. As describedabove, the image signal may include signals to be supplied to a scanline and a data line.

According to still another example of the disclosure, in operation 605,the display driver module 401 of FIG. 4 may generate an image signalcorresponding to the received image data.

In operation 607, the display driver integrated circuit 201 (the gammavoltage generator 217 thereof) of FIG. 2 may perform gamma correctionfor the image signal. Likewise, according to another example of thedisclosure, the display driver module 401 of FIG. 4 may perform gammacorrection for the image signal.

In operations 609 and 611, since the OPR value of the image data issmaller than the specific value, the display driver integrated circuit201 (the control module 211 thereof) of FIG. 2 may be configured toselect the pixel power supply module 213 (a first pixel power supplymodule) of the display driver integrated circuit 201 as a pixel powersupply module which supplies a pixel power. Furthermore, the displaydriver integrated circuit 201 (the control module 211 thereof) maycontrol the pixel power supplying circuit 203 (a second pixel powersupply module) to stop supplying pixel power.

According to another example of the disclosure, in operations 609 and611, since the OPR value of the image data is smaller than the specificvalue, the processor 407 of FIG. 4 may be configured to select thedisplay driver module 401 (a first pixel power supply module) as a pixelpower supply module which supplies a pixel power. Furthermore, theprocessor 407 may be configured to control the pixel power supply module403 (a second pixel power supply module) to stop supplying pixel power.

In operation 613, for example, the display driver integrated circuit 201(the control module 211 thereof) of FIG. 2 may be configured to controlthe panel signal supply module 215 to supply an image signal with alowered frame rate. According to another example of the disclosure, theprocessor 407 of FIG. 4 may be configured to control the display drivermodule 401 to supply an image signal with a lowered frame rate.

In operation 615, for example, the panel 205 of FIG. 2 may be suppliedwith the image signal from the display driver integrated circuit 201 andmay be supplied with pixel power from the pixel power supply module 213or the pixel power supplying circuit 203.

According to another example of the disclosure, in operation 615, thepanel 405 of FIG. 4 may be supplied with the image signal from thedisplay driver module 401 and may be supplied with a pixel power fromthe display driver module 401 or the pixel power supply module 403.

In operations 617 and 619, since the OPR value of the image data is notsmaller than the specific value, the display driver integrated circuit201 (the control module 211 thereof) of FIG. 2 may select the pixelpower supplying circuit 203 (a second pixel power supply module) as apixel power supply module which supplies a pixel power. Furthermore, thedisplay driver integrated circuit 201 (the control module 211 thereof)may control the pixel power supply module 213 (a first pixel powersupply module) of the display driver integrated circuit 201 to stopsupplying pixel power.

According to another example of the disclosure, in operations 609 and611, since the OPR value of the image data is not smaller than thespecific value, the processor 407 of FIG. 4 may select the pixel powersupply module 403 (a second pixel power supply module) as a pixel powersupply module which supplies a pixel power. Furthermore, the processor407 may be configured to control the display driver module 401 (a firstpixel power supply module) to stop supplying a pixel power.

Various examples of the disclosure are exemplified as operations 617 and619 are performed in the case where the OPR value is determined inoperation 603 as being not smaller than the specific value. However, thescope and spirit of the disclosure may not be limited thereto. Forexample, like the case where the OPR value is smaller than the specificvalue, an image signal may be generated from image data and gammacorrection may be performed. The case where the OPR value is not smallerthan the specific value may be the case where power is supplied toalmost all pixels to provide colorful images, that is, a high-powerapplication is executed. In this case, the panel signal supply module215 of the display driver integrated circuit 201 or the display drivermodule 401 may not decrease the frame rate of an image signal to besupplied.

In a display driving method, a display driver integrated circuit, and anelectronic device including the same according to various examples ofthe disclosure, a pixel power source may be selected based on an OPRvalue of image data. If the OPR value is smaller than a specific value,it may be possible to perform control such that an operation of a pixelpower supplying circuit consuming a relatively great quantity of batterypower is stopped and a display driver integrated circuit supplies pixelpower.

According to an example of the disclosure, in the case where an OPRvalue is smaller than a specific value, a display driver integratedcircuit may supply pixel power to pixels of which the number isrelatively small, and thus, gamma correction for implementation of afull color may be used even though a pixel power capable of beingsupplied is somewhat limited.

According to an example of the disclosure, if an OPR value of image datais smaller than a specific value, in general, the probability that asudden change in a screen is small may be high. Accordingly, the framerate of an image signal which a display driver integrated circuitsupplies may be decreased if the OPR value is small, thereby reducingpower consumption more and more.

In addition, an electronic device where a display driving methodaccording to various examples of the disclosure is performed or whichincludes a display driver integrated circuit according to variousexamples of the disclosure may be a wearable device. However, it may bepossible to make the best use of a smart watch as a representativewearable device when a watch image is being outputted.

However, in the case of displaying a watch, a date, and the like, ageneral smart watch equipped with a display may display a watch and thelike during a specific time and may enter a sleep mode, in whichanything is not displayed, to reduce power consumption. According tovarious examples of the disclosure, since battery consumption of awearable device is minimized and/or reduced, it may be possible toimplement a function (so-called “always-on function”) which enables awatch, a date, and the like to be displayed always on a display panel.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example electronic device 701.

Referring to FIG. 7, an electronic device 701 may include, for example,all or a part of an electronic device 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theelectronic device 701 may include one or more processors (e.g., an AP, agraphics processor, and the like) 710, a communication module 720including communication circuitry, a subscriber identification module724, a memory 730, a sensor module 740 including at least one sensor, aninput device 750, a display 760 (e.g., the display 160), an interface770, an audio module 780, a camera module 791, a power management module795, a battery 796, an indicator 797, and a motor 798.

The processor 710 may drive an operating system (OS) or an applicationto control a plurality of hardware or software components connected tothe processor 710 and may process and compute a variety of data. Theprocessor 710 may, for example, be implemented with a System on Chip(SoC), for example. According to an example of the disclosure, theprocessor 710 may further include a graphic processing unit (GPU) and/oran image signal processor. The processor 710 may include at least a part(e.g., a cellular module 721) of components illustrated in FIG. 7. Theprocessor 710 may load and process an instruction or data, which isreceived from at least one of other components (e.g., a nonvolatilememory), and may store a variety of data at a nonvolatile memory.

The communication module 720 may be configured the same as or similar toa communication interface 170 of FIG. 1. The communication module 720may include a cellular module 721, a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) module723, a Bluetooth (BT) module 725, a global positioning system (GPS)module 727, a near field communication (NFC) module 728, and a radiofrequency (RF) module 729.

The cellular module 721 may provide voice communication, videocommunication, a character service, an Internet service or the likethrough a communication network. According to an example of thedisclosure, the cellular module 721 may perform discrimination andauthentication of an electronic device 701 within a communicationnetwork using a subscriber identification module 724 (e.g., a SIM card),for example. According to an example of the disclosure, the cellularmodule 721 may perform at least a portion of functions that theprocessor 710 provides. According to an example of the disclosure, thecellular module 721 may include a communication processor (CP) (notshown).

Each of the Wi-Fi module 723, the BT module 725, the GPS module 727, andthe NFC module 728 may include a processor configured to process dataexchanged through a corresponding module, for example. According to anexample of the disclosure, at least a portion (e.g., two or morecomponents) of the cellular module 721, the Wi-Fi module 723, the BTmodule 725, the GPS module 727, and the NFC module 728 may be includedwithin one Integrated Circuit (IC) or an IC package.

The RF module 729 may transmit and receive a communication signal (e.g.,an RF signal). The RF module 729 may include a transceiver, a poweramplifier module (PAM), a frequency filter, a low noise amplifier (LNA),an antenna, or the like. According to various examples of thedisclosure, at least one of the cellular module 721, the Wi-Fi module723, the BT module 725, the GPS module 727, or the NFC module 728 maytransmit and receive an RF signal through a separate RF module.

The subscriber identification module 724 may include, for example, asubscriber identification module and may include unique identifyinformation (e.g., integrated circuit card identifier (ICCID)) orsubscriber information (e.g., integrated mobile subscriber identity(IMSI)).

The memory 730 (e.g., the memory 130) may include an internal memory (orembedded memory) 732 or an external memory 734. For example, theinternal memory 732 may include at least one of a volatile memory (e.g.,a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static RAM (SRAM), or asynchronous DRAM (SDRAM)), a nonvolatile memory (e.g., a one-timeprogrammable read only memory (OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), anerasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable andprogrammable ROM (EEPROM), a mask ROM, a flash ROM, a NAND flash memory,or a NOR flash memory), a hard drive, or a solid state drive (SSD).

The external memory 734 may include a flash drive, for example, compactflash (CF), secure digital (SD), micro secure digital (Micro-SD), minisecure digital (Mini-SD), extreme digital (xD), multimedia card (MMC), amemory stick, or the like. The external memory 734 may be functionallyand/or physically connected to the electronic device 701 through variousinterfaces.

The sensor module 740 may measure, for example, a physical quantity ormay detect an operation state of the electronic device 701. The sensormodule 740 may convert the measured or detected information to anelectric signal. The sensor module 740 may include at least one of agesture sensor 740A, a gyro sensor 740B, a pressure sensor 740C, amagnetic sensor 740D, an acceleration sensor 740E, a grip sensor 740F, aproximity sensor 740G, a color sensor 740H (e.g., red, green, blue (RGB)sensor), a living body sensor 740I, a temperature/humidity sensor 740J,an illuminance sensor 740K, or an UV sensor 740M. Although notillustrated, additionally or generally, the sensor module 740 mayfurther include, for example, an E-nose sensor, an electromyographysensor (EMG) sensor, an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, anelectrocardiogram (ECG) sensor, a photoplethysmographic (PPG) sensor, aninfrared (IR) sensor, an iris sensor, and/or a fingerprint sensor. Thesensor module 740 may further include a control circuit configured tocontrol at least one or more sensors included therein. According to anexample of the disclosure, the electronic device 701 may further includea processor which is a part of the processor 710 or independent of theprocessor 710 and is configured to control the sensor module 740. Theprocessor may be configured to control the sensor module 740 while theprocessor 710 remains at a sleep state.

The input device 750 may include, for example, a touch panel 752, a(digital) pen sensor 754, a key 756, an ultrasonic input unit 758, orthe like. The touch panel 752 may, for example, use at least one ofcapacitive, resistive, infrared and ultrasonic detecting methods. Also,the touch panel 752 may, for example, further include a control circuit.The touch panel 752 may, for example, further include a tactile layer toprovide a tactile reaction to a user.

The (digital) pen sensor 754 may be, for example, a part of a touchpanel or may include an additional sheet for recognition. The key 756may include, for example, a physical button, an optical key, a keypad,and the like. The ultrasonic input device 758 may detect (or sense) anultrasonic signal, which is generated from an input device, through amicrophone (e.g., a microphone 788) and may check data corresponding tothe detected ultrasonic signal.

The display 760 (e.g., the display 160) may include a panel 762 (e.g.,the panel 165), a hologram device 764, and/or a projector 766. Thedisplay 760 may further include the display driver integrated circuit161 and the pixel power supply circuit 163 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

The panel 762 may be configured to be the same as or similar to thepanel 165 of the display 160 of FIG. 1. The panel 762 and the touchpanel 752 may be integrated into a single module. The hologram device764 may display a stereoscopic image in a space using a lightinterference phenomenon. The projector 766 may project light onto ascreen so as to display an image. The screen may be arranged in theinside or the outside of the electronic device 701. According to anexample of the disclosure, the display 760 may further include a controlcircuit configured to control the panel 762, the hologram device 764,and/or the projector 766.

The interface 770 may include, for example, an HDMI (high-definitionmultimedia interface) 772, a USB (universal serial bus) 774, an opticalinterface 776, or a D-sub (D-subminiature) 778. The interface 770 may beincluded, for example, in a communication interface 170 illustrated inFIG. 1. Additionally or generally, the interface 770 may include, forexample, a mobile high definition link (MHL) interface, a SDcard/multi-media card (MMC) interface, or an infrared data association(IrDA) standard interface.

The audio module 780 may convert a sound and an electric signal in dualdirections. At least a portion of the audio module 780 may be included,for example, in an input/output interface 150 illustrated in FIG. 1. Theaudio module 780 may process, for example, sound information that isinput or output through a speaker 782, a receiver 784, an earphone 786,or a microphone 788.

The camera module 791 for shooting a still image or a video may include,for example, at least one image sensor (e.g., a front sensor or a rearsensor), a lens, an image signal processor (ISP), or a flash (e.g., anLED or a xenon lamp).

The power management module 795 may manage, for example, power of theelectronic device 701. According to an example of the disclosure, apower management integrated circuit (PMIC) a charger IC, or a battery orfuel gauge may be included in the power management module 795. The PMICmay have a wired charging method and/or a wireless charging method. Thewireless charging method may include, for example, a magnetic resonancemethod, a magnetic induction method or an electromagnetic method and mayfurther include an additional circuit, for example, a coil loop, aresonant circuit, or a rectifier, and the like. The battery gauge maymeasure, for example, a remaining capacity of the battery 796 and avoltage, current or temperature thereof while the battery is charged.The battery 796 may include, for example, a rechargeable battery or asolar battery.

The indicator 797 may display a specific state of the electronic device701 or a portion thereof (e.g., a processor 710), such as a bootingstate, a message state, a charging state, and the like. The motor 798may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical vibration and maygenerate the following effects: vibration, haptic, and the like.Although not illustrated, a processing device (e.g., a GPU) forsupporting a mobile TV may be included in the electronic device 701. Theprocessing device for supporting a mobile TV may process media dataaccording to the standards of DMB, digital video broadcasting (DVB),MediaFlo™, or the like.

Each of the above-mentioned elements of the electronic device accordingto various examples of the disclosure may be configured with one or morecomponents, and the names of the elements may be changed according tothe type of the electronic device. The electronic device according tovarious examples of the disclosure may include at least one of theabove-mentioned elements, and some elements may be omitted or otheradditional elements may be added. Furthermore, some of the elements ofthe electronic device according to various examples of the disclosuremay be combined with each other so as to form one entity, so that thefunctions of the elements may be performed in the same manner as beforethe combination.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example program module 810.

Referring to FIG. 8, according to an example of the disclosure, aprogram module 810 (e.g., the program 140) may include an operatingsystem (OS) to control resources associated with an electronic device(e.g., the electronic device 101), and/or diverse applications (e.g.,the application program 147) driven on the OS. The OS may be, forexample, android, iOS, windows, symbian, tizen, or bada.

The program module 810 may include a kernel 820, a middleware 830, anapplication programming interface (API) 860, and/or an application 870.At least a part of the program module 810 may be preloaded on anelectronic device or may be downloadable from an external electronicdevice (e.g., the electronic devices 102 and 104, the server 106, andthe like).

The kernel 820 (e.g., the kernel 141) may include, for example, a systemresource manager 821 or a device driver 823. The system resource manager821 may perform control, allocation, or retrieval of system resources.According to an example of the disclosure, the system resource manager821 may include a process managing part, a memory managing part, or afile system managing part. The device driver 823 may include, forexample, a display driver, a camera driver, a Bluetooth driver, a commonmemory driver, an USB driver, a keypad driver, a Wi-Fi driver, an audiodriver, or an inter-process communication (IPC) driver.

The middleware 830 may provide, for example, a function which theapplication 870 needs in common, or may provide diverse functions to theapplication 870 through the API 860 to allow the application 870 toefficiently use limited system resources of the electronic device.According to an example of the disclosure, the middleware 830 (e.g., themiddleware 143) may include at least one of a runtime library 835, anapplication manager 841, a window manager 842, a multimedia manager 843,a resource manager 844, a power manager 845, a database manager 846, apackage manager 847, a connectivity manager 848, a notification manager849, a location manager 850, a graphic manager 851, or a securitymanager 852.

The runtime library 835 may include, for example, a library module whichis used by a compiler to add a new function through a programminglanguage while the application 870 is being executed. The runtimelibrary 835 may perform input/output management, memory management, orcapacities about arithmetic functions.

The application manager 841 may manage, for example, a life cycle of atleast one application of the application 870. The window manager 842 maymanage a GUI resource which is used in a screen. The multimedia manager843 may identify a format necessary for playing diverse media files, andmay perform encoding or decoding of media files by using a codecsuitable for the format. The resource manager 844 may manage resourcessuch as a storage space, memory, or source code of at least oneapplication of the application 870.

The power manager 845 may operate, for example, with a basicinput/output system (BIOS) to manage a battery or power, and may providepower information for an operation of an electronic device. The databasemanager 846 may generate, search for, or modify database which is to beused in at least one application of the application 870. The packagemanager 847 may install or update an application which is distributed inthe form of package file.

The connectivity manager 848 may manage, for example, wirelessconnection such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The notification manager 849 maydisplay or notify an event such as arrival message, promise, orproximity notification in a mode that does not disturb a user. Thelocation manager 850 may manage location information of an electronicdevice. The graphic manager 851 may manage a graphic effect that isprovided to a user, or manage a user interface relevant thereto. Thesecurity manager 852 may provide a general security function necessaryfor system security or user authentication. According to an example ofthe disclosure, in the case where an electronic device (e.g., theelectronic device 101) includes a telephony function, the middleware 830may further include a telephony manager for managing a voice or videocall function of the electronic device.

The middleware 830 may include a middleware module that combines diversefunctions of the above-described components. The middleware 830 mayprovide a module specialized to each OS kind to provide differentiatedfunctions. Additionally, the middleware 830 may remove a part of thepreexisting components, dynamically, or may add a new component thereto.

The API 860 (e.g., the API 145) may be, for example, a set ofprogramming functions and may be provided with a configuration which isvariable depending on an OS. For example, in the case where an OS is theandroid or the iOS, it may be permissible to provide one API set perplatform. In the case where an OS is the tizen, it may be permissible toprovide two or more API sets per platform.

The application 870 (e.g., an application program 147) may include, forexample, one or more applications capable of providing functions for ahome 871, a dialer 872, an SMS/MMS 873, an instant message (IM) 874, abrowser 875, a camera 876, an alarm 877, a contact 878, a voice dial879, an e-mail 880, a calendar 881, a media player 882, am album 883,and a timepiece 884, or for offering health care (e.g., measuring anexercise quantity or blood sugar) or environment information (e.g.,atmospheric pressure, humidity, or temperature).

According to an example of the disclosure, the application 870 mayinclude an application (hereinafter referred to as “informationexchanging application” for descriptive convenience) to supportinformation exchange between the electronic device (e.g., the electronicdevice 101) and an external electronic device (e.g., an electronicdevice 102 or 104). The information exchanging application may include,for example, a notification relay application for transmitting specificinformation to the external electronic device, or a device managementapplication for managing the external electronic device.

For example, the information exchanging application may include afunction of transmitting notification information, which arise fromother applications (e.g., applications for SMS/MMS, e-mail, health care,or environmental information), to an external electronic device (e.g.,the electronic device 102 or 104). Additionally, the informationexchanging application may receive, for example, notificationinformation from an external electronic device and provide thenotification information to a user.

The device management application may be configured to manage (e.g.,install, delete, or update), for example, at least one function (e.g.,turn-on/turn-off of an external electronic device itself (or a part ofcomponents) or adjustment of brightness (or resolution) of a display) ofthe external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102 or 104)which communicates with the electronic device, an application running inthe external electronic device, or a service (e.g., a call service or amessage service) provided from the external electronic device.

According to an example of the disclosure, the application 870 mayinclude an application (e.g., a health care application) which isassigned in accordance with an attribute (e.g., an attribute of a mobilemedical device as a kind of electronic device) of the externalelectronic device (e.g., the electronic device 102 or 104). According toan example of the disclosure, the application 870 may include anapplication which is received from an external electronic device (e.g.,the server 106 or the electronic device 102 or 104). According to anexample of the disclosure, the application 870 may include a preloadedapplication or a third party application which is downloadable from aserver. The component titles of the program module 810 according to theexample of the disclosure may be modifiable depending on kinds of OSs.

According to various examples of the disclosure, at least a portion ofthe program module 810 may be implemented by software, firmware,hardware, or a combination of two or more thereof. At least a portion ofthe program module 810 may be implemented (e.g., executed), for example,by a processor (e.g., the application processor 710). At least a portionof the program module 810 may include, for example, modules, programs,routines, sets of instructions, or processes, or the like for performingone or more functions.

The term “module” used herein may represent, for example, a unitincluding one or more combinations of hardware, software and firmware.The term “module” may be interchangeably used with the terms “unit”,“logic”, “logical block”, “component” and “circuit”. The “module” may bea minimum unit of an integrated component or may be a part thereof. The“module” may be a minimum unit for performing one or more functions or apart thereof. The “module” may be implemented mechanically orelectronically. For example, the “module” according to various examplesof the disclosure may include at least one of an application-specific IC(ASIC) chip, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and aprogrammable-logic device for performing some operations, which areknown or will be developed.

According to various examples of the disclosure, at least a portion ofan apparatus (e.g., modules or functions thereof) or a method (e.g.,operations) according to various examples of the disclosure, forexample, may be implemented by instructions stored in acomputer-readable storage media in the form of a program module. Theinstruction, when executed by one or more processors (e.g., theprocessor 120), may perform a function corresponding to the instruction.The computer-readable storage media, for example, may be the memory 130.

A computer-readable recording media may include a hard disk, a floppydisk, a magnetic media (e.g., a magnetic tape), an optical media (e.g.,compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) and a digital versatile disc(DVD, a magneto-optical media (e.g., a floptical disk), and a hardwaredevice (e.g., read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), aflash memory, or the like). Also, a program instruction may include notonly a mechanical code such as things generated by a compiler but also ahigh-level language code executable on a computer using an interpreter.The above hardware unit may be configured to operate via one or moresoftware modules for performing an operation of the disclosure, and viceversa.

A module or a program module according to an example of the disclosuremay include at least one of the above elements, or a portion of theabove elements may be omitted, or additional other elements may befurther included. Operations performed by a module, a program module, orother elements according to an example of the disclosure may be executedsequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or in a heuristic method. Also, aportion of operations may be executed in different sequences, omitted,or other operations may be added.

According to various examples of the disclosure, a pixel power resourcemay be selected based on an OPR value of image data, and a frame rate ofan image signal may be lowered. Thus, power consumption may be reduced.This low-power scheme may make it possible to implement a function(so-called “always-on function”) in which a specific screen is alwaysdisplayed on a display panel.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference tovarious examples thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various changes in form and details may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A display driver integrated circuit comprising:panel signal supply circuitry configured to supply an image signalcorresponding to image data to a panel; pixel power supply circuitryconfigured to supply pixel power to a pixel that receives the imagesignal; and a controller configured to control the pixel power supplycircuitry to supply the pixel power based on an on-pixel ratio (OPR)value of the image data.
 2. The display driver integrated circuit ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the pixel powersupply circuitry to supply the pixel power when the OPR value satisfiesa predetermined condition.
 3. The display driver integrated circuit ofclaim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the panelsignal supply circuitry to change a frame rate of the image signal beingsupplied when the OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 4. Thedisplay driver integrated circuit of claim 3, wherein the controller isconfigured to control the panel signal supply circuitry to lower theframe rate of the image signal.
 5. The display driver integrated circuitof claim 1, further comprising: a gamma voltage generator configured toperform gamma correction about the image signal, and wherein the panelsignal supply circuitry supplies the gamma-corrected image signal to thepanel when the OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 6. Anelectronic device comprising: a panel including a plurality of pixelsand configured to display a screen based on image data; a processorconfigured to control a source of a pixel power to be supplied to thepanel based on an OPR value of the image data; a display driver circuitconfigured to supply an image signal corresponding to the image data tothe panel and to supply a pixel power to a pixel, to which the imagesignal is supplied, under the control of the processor; and pixel powersupply circuit configured to supply a pixel power, to which the imagesignal is supplied, under the control of the processor.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the display driver circuit to supply the pixel power when theOPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 8. The electronic deviceof claim 7, wherein the processor is configured to control the pixelpower supply circuit to stop supplying the pixel power.
 9. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the display driver circuit to change a frame rate of the imagesignal when the OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 10. Theelectronic device of claim 9, the processor is configured to control thedisplay driver circuit to lower the frame rate of the image signal whenthe OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 11. The electronicdevice of claim 6, wherein the display driver performs gamma correctionfor the image signal and supplies the gamma-corrected image signal tothe panel when the OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition. 12.The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured tocontrol the pixel power supply circuit to supply the pixel power whenthe OPR value satisfies a predetermined condition.
 13. The electronicdevice of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to control thedisplay driver circuit to stop supplying the pixel power.
 14. A methodfor driving a display, comprising: generating an image signalcorresponding to image data and selecting one pixel power supply circuitto supply pixel power to a panel, from among a plurality of pixel powersupply circuits based on an OPR value of the image data; and supplyingthe image signal and a pixel power from the selected pixel power supplycircuit to the panel.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the pluralityof pixel power supply circuits comprises a first pixel power supplycircuit configured to generate a pixel power of a first level and asecond pixel power supply circuit configured to generate a pixel powerof a second level greater than the first level, and wherein selectingcomprises: selecting the first pixel power supply circuit when the OPRvalue satisfies a predetermined condition.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein selecting comprises: stopping the second pixel power supplycircuit to supply a pixel power.
 17. The method of claim 15, whereinsupplying comprises: supplying the image signal with a changed framerate.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the changed frame rate isobtained by lowering a frame rate.
 19. The method of claim 15, whereinsupplying further comprises: performing gamma correction on the imagesignal.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the first pixel power supplycircuit is included in a display driver integrated circuit.